California Layoffs — January 2016
Employers in California posted 82 WARN Act notices in January 2016, affecting an estimated 7,427 workers — reflecting a cooling compared to December and up 57% versus January 2015. The average filing covered 91 workers, with 46 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Retail | 24 | 2,545 |
| Healthcare | 2 | 773 |
| Manufacturing | 10 | 442 |
| Information & Technology | 7 | 292 |
| Agriculture | 3 | 286 |
| Transportation | 3 | 215 |
| Finance & Insurance | 2 | 125 |
| Accommodation & Food | 1 | 58 |
The Retail sector saw the heaviest impact with 2,545 workers across 24 notices. On a related front, Healthcare reported 773 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| San Mateo | 12 | 1,908 |
| Orange | 12 | 1,818 |
| Los Angeles | 13 | 979 |
| Santa Clara | 11 | 774 |
| Ventura | 4 | 366 |
San Mateo saw the most concentrated activity, accounting for 26% of all affected workers with 1,908 workers across 12 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Irvine | 3 | 950 |
| Long Beach | 3 | 691 |
| Palo Alto | 5 | 548 |
| San Jose | 4 | 504 |
| Santa Clara | 2 | 500 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 46 | 4,055 |
| Layoff | 36 | 3,372 |
The high proportion of closures (55% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in California's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broadcom and Avago | Irvine | 771 | Layoff | |
| Broadcom and Avago | Santa Clara | 435 | Layoff | |
| Walmart | Oakland | 397 | Closure | |
| Pathology | Torrance | 388 | Layoff | |
| Molina Hospital Management | Long Beach | 385 | Layoff | |
| Walmart | Los Angeles | 324 | Closure | |
| Walmart | Long Beach | 295 | Closure | |
| Walmart | San Jose | 210 | Closure | |
| Urban Fulfillment Services | Westlake Village | 192 | Closure | |
| VMware | Palo Alto | 170 | Layoff | |
| Georgia-Pacific Corrugated | Buena Park | 148 | Closure | |
| Hub Group Trucking | Ontario | 131 | Closure | |
| Sierra Pacific Industries | Arcata | 125 | Closure | |
| Cisco Systems | San Jose | 123 | Layoff | |
| Cisco Systems | San Jose | 123 | Layoff |
The largest notice was filed by Broadcom and Avago at its Irvine facility, reporting 771 affected workers. Broadcom and Avago followed with 435 workers.
Trend & Outlook
The trends suggest a mixed picture for California's labor market, with activity diverging between monthly and annual comparisons. The Retail sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This analysis is based on official WARN Act filings reported by California. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act requires employers with 100+ employees to provide 60-day advance notice of mass layoffs and plant closings. Data is updated daily by WARN Firehose. View all California WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.